Just as the MIA opens Inscribe These Words, an exhibition drawn from the Judaica collection about writing the word of God, comes this news from the New York Times: leaders of the largest branch of Judaism, the Reform movement, are initiating a reinvention of the bar and bat mitzvah process.
The movement stems from a concern that the current approach places too great an emphasis on Torah study at an age when youth are ill-equipped to grasp its full meaning. One suggestion is to delay the ceremony until children are older; another is to replace Hebrew school with a focus on community service. Thirteen Reform congregations across the nation have volunteered to pilot the change, and an additional 67 have signaled interest.